Understanding Git Merge vs Rebase: Concepts, Commands, and When to Use Each

Many developers wonder whether to use merge or rebase when integrating branches in Git. Some have never heard of rebase at all, while others use it exclusively in their previous companies.

The author shares personal experiences of discovering rebase for the first time and explains that the choice only matters when branch merging is required; single‑developer projects with a single main branch rarely need either.

Merge (Branch Integration)

When using merge , Git creates a new merge commit that preserves the histories of both branches. This keeps the log complete, showing every commit from the merged branch.

Typical workflow with a main branch and a dev branch:

git checkout main
git pull origin main
git merge dev
# resolve conflicts if any
git commit -m "Merge dev into main"
git push origin main

After merging, the commit graph can appear tangled because each merge adds a new node.

Rebase (Branch Integration)

The rebase command reapplies the changes from one branch onto another, rewriting history to produce a linear sequence of commits without a merge commit.

Typical rebase workflow for the same main and dev branches:

git checkout dev
git pull origin dev
git rebase main
# resolve conflicts if any
git rebase --continue
git push origin dev --force

Rebasing results in a clean, linear history, which many teams prefer for readability.

Squash (Commit Compression)

During a rebase you can use the squash option to combine multiple commits into a single one. For example, three commits A, B, C on a feature branch can be squashed into a single commit F on the main branch.

Command to squash the last three commits:

git rebase -i HEAD~3
# In the editor, change "pick" to "squash" for the desired commits
# Save and close, edit the new commit message, then push with force

Choosing the Right Method

There is no universally "best" approach; the decision depends on project needs and team habits.

Use merge if you want to retain the full branch history and are comfortable with merge commits—ideal for collaborative teams that need to trace each developer's work.

Use rebase if you prefer a tidy, linear history—suitable for projects that value a clean commit log.

Some companies enforce a single strategy. Rebase works well for single‑branch, forward‑only development, but is less suitable when maintaining multiple long‑living versions (e.g., 2.x and 3.x) simultaneously.

The author notes that a recent Vue project was merged using rebase.